Decay and Growth
by FayZakInc
Summary: Faylaria and Shizue are young Night Elves starting to make a place for themselves in the world. Watch them adventure though Warcraft expansions in this developing new saga. This story changes POV bi-chapterly. Faylaria and Shizue are original characters owned by FayZakInc. We DO NOT own World of Warcraft; it belongs to Blizzard Entertainment.
1. Chapter 1 - Shizue - Starbreeze Village

Starbreeze Village. When most people hear this they think of a beat-down, abandoned husk of a town. A town- no, a cluster of buildings- that is broken and wasted, nothing but run-down houses with beasts running rampart. But when I think of Starbreeze village, I see a town as beautiful and proud as its name. Nothing like what it is today, instead, I see tall arches and friendly faces, the way a Night Elf town should be. And that is the town I grew up in, where my story begins. I was raised in a small, traditional two room house, like many of the houses Night Elf children grew up in. My mother was a hunter and my father was a priest. He spent most of his time away from home, traveling all over the giant tree-island working with other priests and doing priestly work, so I was raised primarily by my mother. She was kind and gentle, and I have nothing but fond memories of her, few as they are. She had light blue hair that she kept loosely pulled back and a black Saber cat named Jinx who was our companion and guardian. In the wooden house beside mine lived a family new to the town, the Nightblades. There were only three of them; the two parents were hardly ever there, often they were called off to battle, and their daughter Faylaria, who was a year older than I. At first I didn't speak to her. She was threatening and her parents were very well known for their skills in combat. In my childlike mind, Faylaria was a miniature killer, just like her respectable parents. In all reality however, she was the opposite. She was a lonely child who lived with her caretaker, missed her parents, and had few friends. She still possessed the deadly accuracy her parents had, but was kind at heart. It took my mother's pleading and urging for me to finally walk over there and knock on the door. Little did I know that after that first terrifying meeting, Faylaria and I would become fast friends. I still remember clearly running with her throughout the wooded town, which was small enough to know everybody, but still very large. What you see now is only a fraction of its former glory. Once the tension was broken between us girls, we did everything together. We got into trouble around the town, leaping from roof to roof and running barefoot through the town center. Once we even dared each other to jump in the moonwell. I backed down at the last minute, but Fay didn't. She got a good whooping from the high priest, but it was well worth it in her opinion. We were barefoot and rugged and happy. The world was our playground and we made good use of it. I loved jumping in the cool waters of Lake Al'Ameth, and she adored the soaring feeling we got when we ventured out onto a branch protruding from the trunk of Teldrassil. By the time we got old enough to know better than to pull those daredevil stunts, we got shipped off to Shadowglen to choose a Path and begin training. Of course Fay knew what she was going to choose. Her parents were Warriors, and their parents before them, and before them. She had a family legacy to fulfill. I on the other hand, had a choice. I knew my mother would support whatever I chose, and my father would push me to be a priest, were he here, but that still left the ultimate decision up to me. I left my hometown without a clue of which Path to follow, but knowing in the end I would make the right decision. Fay and I donned our oversized armor and matching leather backpacks filled with our belongings and made our way up the steep mountain path toward Shadowglen, waving goodbye to my mother as we went. Filled with spring water and hope, we turned our backs on Starbreeze Village and toward our future, clasping the others small, sweaty hands.

It took the two of us all day and into the early hours of the night before we saw the glow of Aldrassil in the distance. We slipped and skidded on our short legs down the sloped path towards our new home, excitement hastening our pace. We could hear the quiet steps of Nightsabers in the bushes, but knew they were docile so we took no notice of them. At one point, a dark blue haired panther with yellow eyes padded out into the path in front of us and paused. We stopped dead in our tracks and stared at it. The massive cat glanced at us and slowly continued walking across the path and disappearing into the dark woods. "That was a druid" Fay whispered in my ear. It was one of the first we had seen, as most of them kept together and didn't live in our town. We walked cautiously for a few more minutes before getting close enough to the tree and breaking into a run to the nearest lantern. There was a tall blue haired Night Elf waiting for us a short distance from the giant tree. He asked us our names and led the way towards the massive structure, leading us up the well-lit lamp and into a small enclave that would be our home until we were old enough to move up in our training. The first night was a blur of excitement for Fay and I, everything was new and thrilling. This was every Night Elf child's dream, and many never made it to where we were now. We threw our packs on the two beds and raced out the door, leaving it ajar. From the ramp outside our room, we could see the whole glen, all the way to the mountains bordering it. "Race you to the top!" Fay suddenly said, smacking my shoulder and taking off the ramp. I tailed her, running and tripping up the steep wooden pathway. We ran past some older students who looked like a rogue and a Priest, based on the black leather armor and long white holy robes they wore. The two seemed to be only a few years older than us, but thought they were much more advanced based on the disapproving scowls we got. When we finally did reach the top, we hushed our laughter and crept silently past the rooms on the upper levels. We knew most of the master trainers lived on top, and feared disturbing them and getting off on a bad foot. After a few seconds of taking the view at the top, we raced down the ramp in long, stretching our legs out as we ran downhill, and probably disturbing more than a few students with our thumping footfalls.

Morning came and finally settled down. The sun was just beginning to cast a purple glow over the glen and into our windows when we fell asleep, waking only when the sunlight had faded to a slight glow. We had been up for a while and washed in the basin provided for us in the room. We helped each other with the already large armor that we would someday grow into and made our way to the main chamber. There were no other new trainees, so the head of the training program was waiting specifically for us. She ushered us into a large room towards the back of the tree giving us advice on the way.

"You can't begin your training until you choose your Path. One will call to you, it's your job to figure out which, unless you already know." She opened the doors to reveal a room filled with a variety of adults sitting behind wooden tables. It was fairly easy to distinguish which person was the master trainer of each class. Fay went straight to the tall, well-built woman in dark grey armor. She was clearly the Warrior trainer. I walked around for a few minutes, wondering where to go. I knew I couldn't be a Warrior, as I didn't have the skill or strength for it. Rogues were too shady for my taste and I didn't want to deal with all the poisons. I considered a Priest, because I enjoyed the healing arts, but I didn't have the dedication to the Church that it required. I had nearly settled on talking to the Huntress in front of me when I saw the Druid trainer in the corner. I nearly missed him, and the possibility had been lost to my mind. I had completely forgotten about the cat from night before until I saw his midnight blue hair and wondered if they were one and the same. I walked over to his spot, never breaking eye contact, even when one of the many plants around his table passed in front of him.

"Little one," He began when I was within speaking distance. "The Druidic Arts call to you, yes?" I nodded. He smiled and stretched out his hand. "I'm Mardant." His voice was warm but full of mystery. I stretched out my hand and he took my tiny one in his massive handshake.

"Shizue." I replied shakily.

Our first class was basic combat, which Fay and I took together, though we had different weapons. She had a wooden practice sword while I chose a long staff, rather than a mace or polearm. We had fought each other many times before, but always with sticks and never in the rigorous manner that we did now. Eventually, we would learn how to use a larger variety of weaponry, but for now Fay had a large sword and I deflected her blows with a staff taller much than me. By the end of the first month, we were accustomed to the feel of the weapons in our hands and had many bruises. At midnight, we went our separate ways. I'm not sure what Fay did, but I began to learn the magic of nature. First, all I did was improve my focus, and learn where to draw power from. We would learn specialties later, but for now it was all the basics. We met back up for dinner when the moon started setting and joined the rest of the students in a massive hall. After that we reported back to our individual trainers and got bookwork assignments. Fay and I wandered around the huge library searching for our class specific tomes. Months turned into years and blunt weapons into sharp ones. The armor that was provided was replaced by our own fitted set of armor. Mine was made of sleek brown leather and Fay's of light iron. She took great pride in polishing it and setting it up each night. We went through what seemed an endless supply of books, enjoying the acquired knowledge, but dreading the tedious way we had to get it. Basic, easy classes turned into more advanced ones as we made our way up the academic ladder. We started training with Night Elves older than ourselves. I worked my way up from trainer to trainer until he said I was ready to choose a specialization, starting tomorrow. He dismissed me for the day and I raced off to find Fay and share the news with her. As it turns out, her trainer had told her the same thing. We both had to choose tomorrow, and begin our journey out of Shadowglen and into the real world.

I lay on my bed that evening rolling the choices over in my head. From the moment I met Mardant I knew being a Druid was the right choice for me, however I didn't know which type. I didn't like the thought of being useless without changing into another form, which wouldn't be good in an ambush. So that removed the possibility of a Feral Druid, leaving Restoration and Balance. I had heard how powerful Balance Druids could be if they were highly trained enough, but I knew how repetitious and difficult it is to achieve that status. Also, the thought of being a feathery beast didn't please me. I turned to Fay who was lying on her back flipping her sword over her head with one hand.

"Would you let me be your healer?" She sat up, looking quizzically at me.

"You would do that?" She asked.

"You want me to?" Was my reply,

"Of course! If you want to, it's every warriors dream to have a good support." I grinned at her.

"It's a deal then." She lay back in her bed, setting the sword down.

"We should have known it would turn out this way." I yawned, nodding my agreement.

"What specialization will you choose?" I asked. She looked thoughtful for a moment then sighed, sitting up and leaning against the wood.

"Probably arms, but who knows. I can always change it later if I want."

I nodded."It's easier to switch when their mildly similar, I won't know anything about dealing damage if I decide I get tired of healing. Which I won't" She only mumbled something and rolled over in bed, throwing her tunic and leg padding off. I stood up and blew out the candle, too tired to continue our conversation.

By dawn, we had our few belongings packed into the larger leather backpacks. I tightened my chestpiece and pulled the long leather boots on. Fay had already donned her shining scale mail and was waiting for me by the door. "Hurry up!" She urged and stuck her head out the door. "He's ready for us!" I grabbed my bag and looked at the empty room behind me.

"Alright, let's go." I said, but didn't need to; she was already making her way down the ramp, and I shut the door behind me. The same man who greeted us several years ago was impatiently waiting at the bottom of the ramp. His hair was longer and lighter blue, but one could still tell who it was. He looked us up and down with silver-blue eyes.

"I remember you two. Off again I see." We nodded eagerly, awaiting his directions. He handed us two rolled up letters. "Take these to the innkeeper in Dolanaar." He didn't have to say it twice, as soon as the words were out of his mouth, we snatched up the letters and took off running up the steep slope we had once traversed many years ago, shouting a short goodbye as we went. By midnight we made it to the fork in the road that led to Starbreeze. We stopped there for a short break to eat some bread and water. Before long Fay stood and faced the path toward Dolanaar. I quickly packed up the rest of the food and joined her. "No going back now." She said, and headed in the direction of the bigger town. We made it a good distance before Fay declared it was too light to continue. I suggested finding a cave, but she didn't want to stray too far from the path and pointed at a massive tree. She approached the trunk and secured her pack before leaping with the grace only a Night Elf could possess to the nearest branch, about twelve feet from the ground. I followed, but had to use a foothold and a second jump to make it as high as her. She climbed with ease to the next highest branch, but I settled on the one I was currently on, satisfied that nothing could reach me except another Night Elf. The branches were wide enough to stretch out on, but rolling over would end badly. I leaned against the trunk and looked past dark shape of my traveling partner above me to the sky. One could barely make out the dim glow of wisps lazily circling the tops of trees.

I woke up to Fay crouched above me nudging me with her booted foot. I sat up and she held my bag out to me. "Time to roll, sleeping beauty." I groaned and pushed myself up to take the bag. As soon as it left her hands she gracefully leapt from the branch and sailed towards the ground to land with a soft thump. "If you get your butt down here we can make it to Dolanaar by lunch!" She shouted up at me. I rolled off the branch and landed on the ground, not as nicely as Fay, but I was still on two feet. We began the long trek in the early hours of the evening when dew dusted every inch of the ground. Before long, Dolanaar came into view. It was like any typical Night Elf town, only larger. Besides Darnassus, it was the largest city on the island, and the largest we had ever been to, so far. Surprisingly, there were few people in the streets. We saw one of the Ancients pass by us without giving the slightest glance at the tiny people around his feet. Another patrol of Saber riders walked ahead of us, but the rest of the city was indoors. We made it to the inn in the center of town and stopped to buy food. Finally, as we were sitting on a bench outside the inn eating someone came up to us.

"Letters please?" The woman asked us, which we produced. "Faylaria Nightblade and Shizue Stillwater?" She asked us, reading off the letter. "Of…..Starbreeze Village…" She said it with a tone in her voice that made me wonder.

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Fay snapped. I assumed because nearly all the recruits came from Darnassus. It took a very respectable family to get their children into training, and few came from outside of the big city.

"No, no, I…" She paused, and then hurriedly said "The innkeeper would like to see you." Handing us back our letters she scurried off towards the inn.

"Weird." Fay mumbled through a mouthful of bread.

I nodded and stood to leave. "Come on, let's get this over with."

The innkeeper was a very large and intimidating man. He had a thick build and long dark green robes, and towered over us from behind his counter. "First, you must prove yourselves to me. I'll be sending the two of you with an extermination party to Starbreeze Village..."

"Extermination!" I shot back at him. "Those are our people!" He looked down his long nose at me.

"You must not have heard the news. Several months ago there was a furbolg raid on the town. The defenses were not enough to repel them, and the messenger didn't make it here fast enough to send backup before the town was wiped out. There are several buildings and a hoard of furbolgs left of it. And it's your responsibility to dispose of them." He said nothing more and handed us our keys.

"I'm going to my room." I turned away from Fay and raced up the steps. When I got to the door I fumbled with the keys and finally swung the door open, slamming it behind me and launching onto the bed. Several minutes passed before I heard the door unlocking and Fay quietly entering the room. She sat on the bed opposite me and waited until I sat up to speak.

"Your father was just leaving town when it happened. He moved to Stormwind and is living in Cathedral Square. Your mother…was home. I'm sorry, Shiz." I nodded, sniffing.

"Thanks for finding out…What of your parents?"

She gave me a sad smile and said, "They were sent on a mission to the new land that was discovered. No one really knows anything about it, except that a portal showed up in The Blasted Lands and they went through it with an entire army."

"That's good." I said. She nodded.

"I'm going on the extermination party. Do you..?" She asked hesitantly.

"No" I replied, curtly. "I want to stay here a few days. I need to think things through." Fay nodded and stood.

"I'll be back in a few days. Be well." She left nothing in the room and slowly closed the door behind her. I lay in the bed in stunned silence for a few minutes before my sobs broke out again.

For the next four days I barely ate, and when I did it was only a mouthful from what I had packed from Shadowglen. Those days were a blur of sleeping or crying out my sorrows. Fay returned about halfway through my mourning session dirty and tired, but alive. She unpacked her belongings and changed before leaving me food and disappearing again. She was in and out of the room several times a day, I paid no attention. I was so caught up in my grief; I rarely took notice of my surroundings. One day, Fay came in and I was sitting up on the bed, clean and fed and dressed. "I've made up my mind," I began to her. Intrigued, she sat facing me on the opposite bed and listened. "I'm going to cancel my training and move to Darnassus to live a normal life."

She nodded. "I wish you would come with me, but I don't expect it. What I do expect is visits." Fay let out a long sigh. "If that's what you want to do, Shizue. I say do it. No one is forcing you to become a fighter. I however, want to continue my training. What happened has pushed me to get as strong as I can, and will." I stood up and whispered

"I understand, I guess this is where our path splits ways."

"I guess it is. But it's not goodbye." She said sadly. I wrapped my arms around my longtime friend, not crying only because I no longer had tears left to shed. I packed my bags and began my long trip Darnassus. We embraced quickly and I went to leave, turning my back on everything I used to know.


	2. Chapter 2 - Faylaria - Returning home

I closed the door behind me, leaving Shizue alone with her grief and went to meet up with the troop captain of the extermination team. I entered the main room of the inn and walked back over to the Innkeeper.

"How is your friend holding up?" The large man asked.

"She's not taking it well. Her mother was a huge part of our lives back in Starbreeze. It's going to be hard to settle our minds."

"I'm sorry to do this but," The Innkeeper looked a little pained from what he was about to say. "They still need more people on the extermination mission."

"That's why I came to talk to you. My friend is unfit to fight anything right now, but I will still go. Just tell me where the troop is gathering."

I only made it about halfway before I had to stop. The rage and sorrow in me was growing fast and I couldn't hold it in anymore. Kalliope was like a mother to me and I could not forgive the furbolgs, even if they were maddened by the second coming of the Legion. I knew the pain that Shizue was feeling was ten times what I was, as she had lost her real mother and not just the figure of one. I stood in the middle of the road as the rage flowed through me. As a warrior, I had mastered the way of controlling the rage inside myself, but this was never ending and could not be tamed by my calming regiment. I stepped off the road into the dense brush of Teldrassil's forest in search of something to release my rage upon. It was not long before I came across a spider of massive size.

The spider was almost four feet tall and twice as wide, it's hairy legs making up most of the size. Green in color, the recluse was in the middle of tormenting some sort of pray it had snared in its web. I had spied spiders like this one in Shadowglen- from afar- that lived in a cave to the north of my old home.

I took a deep breath and drew my sword. This would be the first time I had fought anything alone. No one to help me if I was overpowered by the beast, no one was watching me to intervene at a moment's notice.

The words of my master came back to me. 'As a warrior your greatest weakness is that you must get up to your opponent before you may strike them down. Priests, druids and hunters may attack from afar and rogues can sneak in without notice, but we must charge in with no such handicaps.' My old master had entered a small crouch at this point. 'This next move will be your greatest ally in years to come. Watch closely.'

Entering the same half crouch, I drew in a deep breath. The world slowed down for a second, the rage inside me paused as if to watch as well. I moved forward letting out a war cry as I did, allowing the pent up rage flow through me and feed the power of my mighty sword. The space between the spider and I meant nothing. I lunged at the spider, slicing deep into its side and though one of its legs. The sound that the now seven-legged monster made was truly terrible. The unexpected loss of a limb made the spider falter and reel in pain. I did not let up though; the next attack flowed from my hands with ease, this one stabbing deep into the creature's abdomen. I drew close to the beast and got my weight under my sword and pushed, cutting up and out leaving the back of the spider gaping open. Ooze sprayed all over me as I stepped back to ready my next attack. The spider, knowing that the it's life was soon over, lunged at me with its menacing fangs. I was ready for this however, and stepped back once more with a twirl that severed the spider's head in half. The spider let out one last whisper of life and then lay still.

My rage had not yet subsided. The next few moments were filled with my war shouts, cries of grief and the sound of my sword hitting meat as I released all my rage and sorrow into the corpse of the spider. I hacked and slashed for a short while until there was nothing left and then a little after that as well. My rage subsided and all that was left was grief. I sank down and let it wash over me, tears streaming down my face. "Why Kalliope! It was too soon! It was too soon!" After a while I finally regained my composure and took a look at my surroundings.

It was a small clearing surrounded by brush, a fallen tree to the north with a large hole in it where the spider had been tormenting its prey before my attack. After a moment I realized something was still in the hole. I moved closer, sword in hand. The hole was more of a hidden pathway and from the tracks around the entrance it looked like this was a trail frequented by local wildlife. Peering down the path, I saw the mass of a stag, head bent in defeat, tangled in a large mess of webbing. The stag didn't even look at me as I walked over to the beast, nor did it react when I placed a hand on its side. "Hold still, I'll have you free in a moment."

I pulled a dagger from my hip and started deftly cutting the webbing away from the deer's limbs. As they started to come free, the deer become livelier. Before long the animal was free and I started backing out of the tree's hidden pathway thinking that the stag would rush past me and bound away into the forest, but instead it followed me out calmly.

Clear of the hollow tree, I inspected the deer in front of me, and it did the same. The stag was the largest deer I had ever seen; its head towered above me and its antlers even higher, making it more imposing than one of the ancients that defended the nearby town. His hide was a hint darker than albino, almost a silver color. I was in awe of the beast. I knew that when Teldrassil was able to inhabit life that the druids had brought over all sorts of animals to live in the great tree, even a child of Malorne some said. The deer moved, bringing its head down towards the ground and arching its body back. After a second I realized what it was doing. It was bowing to me. I was so shocked that the only thing I could do was bow back. When I came back up the deer was standing in a beam of moonlight. A sign from Elune! His antlers seem to have a glow about them to make it look as if he had a crown of light. The stag was the picture of a king, mighty and stoic. I was drinking it all in when I blinked and he was gone. I stayed in the clearing for just a few moments before I started heading back to the path to meet the extermination team.

"You're late."

The Troop Captain was a shorter night elf with a constant look of disapproval on her face. Her hair was cropped short to that of human males, earthy green in color. It reminded me of the spider I had just killed. "And what is that all over your armor?" She demanded.

I decided I was going to hate this woman. "Spider blood Ma'am. One of the foul creatures attacked me on my way here."

"Did it happen to explode all over you?" She said with a stern look.

"It managed to get on top of me as I killed it and the insides spilled." I waved my hand over my body slowly to display the gore

The Captain narrowed her eyes at me. "Come meet the other members of our party." She turned and moved to the campfire where three other night elves sat. "This is Nyaira Ironroot, our druid." She pointed to a girl who looked like she had been living in a cave for the last year. Without a doubt she was a feral druid, they always showed the animal inside. Her long dark hair was matted and greasy and pulled up off her face; her eyes had a hint of amber to them, adding to the feral look of her features. The druid was very off-setting to me, I didn't know if she could be trusted to have my back in a fight. Nyaira only glanced at me before going back to looking into the woods longingly.

"And I'm Terral Swiftsong! Priest of Elune." Tall and lean Terral looked like he had more energy than a lightning elemental. He bounded and grasped my hand. "A pleasure to meet you!"

"Likewise." I said with a shocked tone to my voice, not sure how to handle this night elf.

"And the last member of our party is Jerol Shadowleaf, Rogue." The Captain's tone was that of disapproval. Jerol was wrapped in a cloak and didn't get up to greet me. Someone else I was not going to get along with. I almost said 'What a sorry bunch of rejects,' but rejects or not, I was not sure that I could take any of them in a fight, and didn't want to provoke one.

"We are moving out now that Faylaria is here. Terral, kill the fire and let's go." The Captain ordered as she turned towards Starbreeze. The other two elves moved following her. I stayed back with Terral to assist with the fire.

"How long did you guys wait before I got here?" I asked

"Oh," Terral looked up at the night sky, "only about an hour I would say. Seemed like a hell of a lot longer though. No one would talk to me, Jerol and Nyaira refused to answer anything I asked them and the captain- did she happen to tell you her name by the way?" he interjected.

"No, that was something I was hoping you would know." I said a little sheepishly. At this point the fire was more than dead and we started after the other members of our party.

"She didn't tell me anything. She only grunted at me and then told me to make a fire and to," Terral slipped into a voice that sounded almost the same as The Captains, "Shut the hell up or talk to yourself."

"Not a very happy person." I agreed.

"If you two talked any louder the furbolgs could hear us from Stormwind!" The Captain glared back at us. Terral and I exchanged glances but fell silent.

The rest of the trip was quiet. Whenever Terral tried to talk to me about something The Captain shut him up and we pressed on. When the sun was coming up the horizon The Captain called for a halt and to set up camp. "Faylaria!" She barked at me.

I got up from setting up a shelter for myself. "Ma'am?"

"You know the area better than all of us. How close are we to the village?" Her tone was again that of disgust. Did this woman have any bones in her body not laced with hate and bitterness?

"The last time I was outside Shadowglen was when I was a child, so my memory is not as good as it was of this area, but I believe we have a little less than an hour before we make it to Starbreeze." As the words left my mouth I started to feel a little queasy thinking about what I was going to see after I finished that hour long trek. "We will be safe to make a fire I think; there are several hills between us and the village." She grunted at me and left to attend to her own resting place.

Day was soon upon us and with the furbolgs so close, watches had to be set. Luckily Terral and I got a watch together. The thought of spending an hour watching the silent camp with the Druid made my spine shiver. We talked through our watch of our respective training and lives. Terral was much older than I had thought, being almost a thousand years old. He told me stories of the second coming of the Burning Legion and what the opening of the Dark Portal ment to the world-nothing good. Too soon our watch was over and sleep overtook me, along with nightmares of burning houses and corpses.

Our party was split in two: the Captain, Jerol and Nyaira to sneak into the village and kill the leaders while Terral and I made a frontal assault. I was dreading to see my home broke and discarded like in my dreams. I breathed in and put that all behind me. The battlefield was no place for doubt and unrest.

"We are going to come in from the west and assess the place." The Captain said as she strapped she scabbards to her side and back. "You two stay here for half an hour and then make for the entrance and start laying waste to some beast. By that time their leaders will be dead and we can meet up in the middle." She started to move off but halted for a moment. "Be safe." There was a ghost of a sad past in her eyes as she turned to look at us.

"Ma'am."

"May Elune guide your path, Captain."

I was glad that Terral was so good at talking to himself, for I was in no mode for chatter. I was lost in my thoughts and feelings about what I was going to see. The half hour passed to fast for my liking and soon we left to make the mad beasts pay for what they had done to my home.

The last hill was overcome and below me was my village, my home. What lay before me was nothing but a husk. Only five or six building had survived the attack by the bear men. The rage I had felt at the loss of Kalliope was but a candle to the wild fire of rage that hit me now. The need to kill was almost overwhelming. "I hope you have your shielding magic ready, Terral." I said through gritted teeth. "We are going to need it." Without waiting for a reply I started down the small hill that I had walked so many times before.

There were several Furbolgs in the square centered around a totem of some sort. A Shaman was in the middle of some ritua. In his hand was a skull that he had just finished drinking something out of. A night elf skull. My rage broke me- like a night saber breaks a rat. I entered my pose for my charge. A shimmering light surrounded me as I felt the holy shield flick into place about me. I let out my war cry and bounded right to the Shaman.

All the furbolgs had been watching the Shaman attend to his ritual when I was readying my attack, now they all looked as my sword protruded from the foul beast's chest. I moved again slicing the blade out of the side of the beast's body, leaving him to collect his guts from the ground. I swung into the next creature before any of them had time to react, beheading it. Now they had started to ready nearby weapons. "Now for the fun" I roared at them. I moved to the next one, swinging at his arm, aiming to render him useless in the blood bath that was about to happen. He was faster than I had expected and he parried my blow and returned with a swipe from his clawed hand. The holy shield deflected the blow, making his arm fling away wildly. Terror showed in his eyes as I sliced at him. The beast bellowed in pain as his paw was removed from his arm, in the same swing I spun in place hitting the bear that I knew was behind me, opening a large gash in his abdomen. Next to him, another furbolg erupted in light as Terral blasted it in a mighty display of Elune's power. I pressed the attack on the one I had already wounded, bringing my blade down on him. I executed the creature only to have my blade stick in him. I yanked on my blade trying to dislodge it, but to no avail.

Weaponless and in a bad place, I rushed to where the handless Furbolg was still clutching at his stump and scooped up his club. A little oversized for me, but it would have to do. I turned to see what was left.

Nothing. Wierd.

And thats when I heard the yell. I looked to the west to see Terral beset by five of the creatures. Rage once again ran through me. I readied my charge and moved. The first attack was sloppy with the new weapon, only breaking the first beast's shoulder, and not his head as I had planned. The second, however, struck true caving in its head at a deadly angle. Behind me another blast of light erupted. Moving from beast to beast I quickly ended the assault on my healer. I looked around for the next target but it was over. All the furbolgs were dead.

"That was a little close." Terral panted at me with a smile.

I grinned back at him "First real battle I've ever been in myself." I moved to put an end to the handless beast before retrieving my sword from the chest I left it in. "Where do you think the others are?" I turned to Terral, who had just finished healing his own wounds. "Didn't they say they would meet us here in the middle?

"Do you think they were not at lucky as us? Maybe we should try the houses." he said gesturing to the nearest. We walked over to investigate the home, as we entered the building, it struck me that I knew this place. "This is where the old lady lived. She was ancient and we never did learn her name" I said with a small laugh thinking of all the times Shizue and I had braved this side of town. The house was in a shamble, the artwork on the walls ripped and scattered on the floor, a pile of old robes use as some sort of bedding in one corner, but no sign of the other members of our party. We ventured back outside to try another house.

Pain spread throughout my body bringing me to my knees, It felt like fire and ice was having an epic battle throughout my body. A soothing feeling then ran through me, like my spirit was healing my body. I looked up to see Terral eyes close looking up at the moon preying under his breath to Elune. Then I looked for my attackers. Three Furbolgs had appeared in the square. They looked old and powerful. One was a mighty Warrior with a large two handed axe. Where had he even gotten a thing like that? The other two had an aura of the shaman about them along with tell-tail totems. They looked like twins and they wear readying the next attack. I could smell the burning scent of lightning through the air. I knew I had only moments before the Shamans attack would hit. I reached for the knife at my belt and flung it will all my might at one of the twins. It landed dead center and stabbed into the chest of the Shaman. There was a look of shock in both the faces of the twins as the lightning the two were summoning started to go wild. I had to shield my eyes from the light as a huge clap of thunder happened. I heard thing falling around me and Terral knocked off his feet. The burning cold I had felt came back, but was only a ghost of its former effect.

After my head had stopped spinning from the thunder clap I looked around to see what carnage awaited me. Where the furbolgs had been standing was nothing but a black smoldering patch of earth. "Terral?" I called looking behind me. A muffled sound came from inside the house and I crawled in expecting to find him badly injured. What I found was a very wind-blown Terral trapped in the pile of old robes that had wrapped themselves around him. I quickly assisted him in getting out of the tangled mess.

"What a jolt!" he said as soon as we had loosed his head from the mess "I have never felt so alive! And that was a nice shot you got in there with that dagger of yours!" After a few minutes of praise and untangling he finally stood free from the cloth trap. "I wonder if those shamans had captured the others."

"I don't know." I simply stated, still a little dazed from the thunder. "Let's look for them." The search was a fast one, for as we walked out of the house the Captain and others came running into the square.

"What in the name of Elune happened here?" She demanded.

Before I could respond Terral stepped forward "We assaulted the beasts head on and dispatched a large number of them before we started to explore the buildings for a sign of more. As we left this one," he said nodding towards the house behind us, "two Shamans and a Warrior escort ambushed us. They assaulted Faylaria with the elements and I had to shield her quickly so she would survive the attack. Recovering, she threw a dagger into one of the Shamans, disrupting their spell, causing it to go wild and blowing them to bits and us back into the house. Were it not for the quick actions of Faylaria here, we would both be dead." As he finished his report he looked nothing less than a masterful warrior. It made me wonder if he had always been a priest of Elune.

"Is this true" The Captain asked me.

"Yes Ma'am."

She glared at us and then moved to the center of the scorched spot. Bending down, she touched something and came up with a part of a furbolg's paw in her hand. Tossing it aside she walked back to us. "Amazing work. If I hadn't heard the thunder clap I would still be a little distrustful of your story." She turned back to the other two members of our party. "We depart now. I want to be back to Dolanaar before sunrise." and with that we started on our way, leaving my home, my old life, my childhood. My new life had started faster than I had thought, and I was ready for whatever it would bring next. I looked back once more at my old home-destroyed and burned. The rage in my heart was just sadness now, taking a deep breath I turn my back on it and walked forward into my destiny.


	3. Chapter 3 - Shizue - The Big City

My journey to Darnassus should have seemed a lot longer to me, but it did not. One second I was waving goodbye to my lifelong friend and the next I was halfway to the big city. My mind was a blank slate. I saw nothing but the stone path before me, heard no birdsong, and smelled not of the flora surrounding me. I couldn't eat, rarely drank from my waterskin, it seemed I was incapable of anything but putting the next weary foot in front of the other. When the towering gateway to the city finally came into view I simply sunk down against the vine-covered stone wall and stared aimlessly at a lantern tree. When a towering ancient came trudging past me, I only glanced up at its massive height and returned to my trance. Finally, when I had recovered from the trip out, I rose and entered the city. With nowhere to go for the first time in years, I wandered the many winding paths and bridges until I came upon the bank. I nearly went to open up a deposit box in my name, but then I realized I have little money and no valuable possessions. That was when it hit me how stupid my plan to run away from training was, but it was too late now. I would have to find my niche in the city, however long it took. The dawn was approaching and I had to find somewhere to go. I didn't want to spend my scant amount of money on a room for the night, and I couldn't sleep in the middle of town where people were, so I headed for the outskirts of the city. Just before the light began to penetrate the cloak of night I found myself standing by a large shrine just inside the front gates. It was cradled back in a small clearing and surrounded by various stone structures. I instantly noticed how safe it felt, almost as if there was a presence there, guarding all the inhabitants of the sacred circle. Sleepiness suddenly overcame me and I lazily made my way to the nearest stone and lay down, nicely hidden between the rock and a bush. The soft glow of the lantern was the last thing I saw before sleep took me.

Several unrestful hours later I was violently awoken by something nudging into my shoulder and a gruff voice calling me out of sleep.

"Hey, kid, wake up."

My mind was still too muddled from sleep to register the situation though, so the only reply I was capable of was a slurred,

"mm not a kid" and I rolled over.

"Come on, you can't sleep here." It said again and shoved me harder with the toe of a boot. That was when I decided returning to sleep was impossible and I opened my eyes to see who the unwanted voice belonged to. A tall night elf man with dark purple hair looked down at me. "There's going to be people here soon, and they won't appreciate you sleeping on their ancestor's graves." He said, frowning down at me.

"Oh, this is a graveyard? I guess I didn't realize..." I trailed off.

"Here," he offered his hand to me. "What are you doing sleeping in the graveyard anyway?" He casually asked as he pulled me up. I was at a loss; I didn't really have an explanation.

"Well," I began as we walked into the city, "I just got here, so I'm still working out the small details."

He laughed, "So a house is a small detail? Where do your parents live kid, I'll help you get home." My shoulders sagged at his words. What I would give to do just that.

"They lived in Starbreeze Village..." I couldn't bring myself to continue; I simply fought back tears and looked at the ground.

"Oh. I'm sorry..." He didn't say anything else for a few minutes, and I didn't either. There were no words to be said. Finally he startled me by speaking again, in a completely different tone. "Well, if you need something to do to occupy your time here, I may be able to help. A friend of mine runs the herbalists shop, I bet he would even pay you if you helped out there." I silently nodded. I wasn't sure how to react to the stranger. All my life I interacted with people older than me as an authority, but here we seemed to be equals. I was considered an adult in night elf culture by now, even if I still felt like a child. Night elves aged differently than the other races too, so this man who looked to be in his late twenties could be anywhere from twenty to several thousand years old. Rarely would you find a Night Elf who actually looked old, and if you did, he or she was probably over ten thousand years of age.

After several minutes of walking I looked up to see where we were going. "The Temple of the Moon?" I asked.

"Nope," he replied and turned a corner just before the entrance. "Good guess though." We walked a few feet down the worn marble bridge before coming to a tall building standing all alone that branched off the path. The inside looked like someone had eaten a jungle and spit it up in a small tower. There were several towering trees inside and short shrubs at the base of them. Vines covered the walls and ceiling so much that the marble was barely visible beneath them. The floor was coated in grass and several flower beds off to the side. A man sat on a large flat rock right next to a pool of water. The pool appeared to be fed through a crack in the wall and slowly spilled out another. "Firodren!" My newly made friend called out.

"Ahh, Patthias! Just who I wanted to see. What have you got for me today?" The man on the rock asked as he got up to greet us. He had light purple hair pulled back and a very full beard.

"Exactly what you need, my friend. Some help- so your old rump can get some rest once in a while." As he said that he stepped back to introduce me. "This is..." He paused to look at me. I realized he had no idea what my name was, and I his.

"Shizue Stillwater." I interjected.

"Who just moved here and is looking for something to do." He finished for me.

"Well young Shizue, what have you done before? Worked with any plants?" He inquired. I instantly felt bad, of course I had not. I had little idea of anything in the trade district.

"No, I'm a novice Druid." The man seemed to inspect me for a moment with a _hmm _sound.

"Well, everyone starts somewhere. I think you'll do just fine." He nodded as if to justify his words and turned back to Patthias. "Now, let's discuss that spider venom..." The two men walked outside and began bargaining. When Firodren returned he was alone. He walked past me and knelt down by one of the flower beds, turning around only when he saw I hadn't followed him. Pointing at the ground he said,

"Well, if you want to learn you better get down here where all the plants are." I quickly complied and listened to his explanations.

The distraction was a welcome change in my lifestyle. I spent every day at Firodren's store learning the various plants and their properties. He taught me how to recognize the poisonous ones and how to harvest and dry plants for later use. Some days he would take me out of the city for practice, gathering the few herbs Teldrassil had to offer. Months went by and eventually, our herb gathering sessions turned into self-defense lessons. He was, as I found out, a very skilled balance Druid, so he taught me a variety of spells all Druids learned eventually, healer or not. "Get it right!" Firodren yelled at me. "Moonfire first! Then you choose which long cast is best!" I had been training several months and he still wasn't satisfied. "Again!" The older Druid yelled. I began to draw from the energy of nature around me, as the older druid had instructed. I was hesitant though, it felt like I was stealing. The paltry ball that I finally was able to conjure up wasn't even able to make it to the target dummy.

"No!" Firodren roared. "All Druids must draw their power from somewhere. Everyone, for that matter must. Think about, you cannot muster up the amount of energy that flows through you from yourself. Druids get their energy from nature, Paladins and Priests from the Light of Elune, Mages from the elements, Warlocks from… I don't even want to know. Understand? Now, I will leave you to meditate. Feel the energy around you and learn to channel it." He rose from the boulder he was sitting on and left me, heading towards Darnassus. I sighed and looked around me. How was I supposed to feel the energy inside a leaf? I picked up the nearest green sprig and looked it. In exasperation I pressed the greenery to my forehead and shut my eyes, trying to concentrate on it. Nothing. I let out a deep breath and fell backwards out of my meditative stance and onto the grass. I may be excelling in taking physical, healing properties out of plants, but I couldn't for the life of me draw energy from them. I must have fallen asleep because when I woke the sun was just starting to cast its rays across the glen, giving the entire island a purple glow. I knew Firodren wouldn't be waiting for me until the night had set, so I made my way towards the leatherworker's shop. Unfortunately, I had to take the ramp up the side of his house and cross just outside in order to get to my room. The small room I rented was atop a weaponsmith's shop. I had to cross a bridge from the leatherworker in order to get there, and there was no other exit. When i first acquired it, the entire front had been open. The first thing I did was put wooden panels across it for privacy. There was a four poster bed, a chest of drawers, bookshelf, and a counter with a basin of water. The bookshelf was primarily filled with tomes of Druidiology and a lot of herbalism guides. I collapsed into the bed and closed my eyes, once again trying to reach out to the natural energy surrounding me. It ought to be easy; I was living on a giant tree after all. After about an hour of straining my mind I finally just gave in and let sleep take me.

The next evening it was my turn to be at the store early. As I rounded the corner towards the herbalist's shop I noticed someone waiting outside the entrance. I couldn't make out the figure at first due to the shifting light but I called out an apology for my absence. Whoever it was straightened and came out of the shadow of the building to greet me. That was when I noticed who it was.

"Patthias!" I called excitedly, waving my free hand.

"Shizue, it is good to see you. I was expecting the old man, but you're a welcome surprise. You're doing well I assume? Not sleeping in the graveyard anymore?" He laughed at that and waited for my response as I caught my breath.

"No, not at all. The leatherworker owns a room across from his shop and he's letting me stay there, for a small fee. I bring him materials for the herbal rubs he uses to cure leather." He nodded, as if to approve of my arrangement. "What of you? Where have you been?" I pressed. He always has the best tales to tell, being a traveling hunter, and a very powerful one at that.

"Well," he began, "I've spent a long time in the recently discovered Outland, mostly I map beasts' locations, but I also brought back an old Draenic tome of Outlandian herbs I thought the two of you may be interested in." He produced a worn leather book as he spoke and placed it in my eager hands.

"Firodren will love this!" I exclaimed. "Although, he won't get his hands on it until I've poured through every page." I said coyly.

"Which will be tomorrow evening right?" Patthias laughed.

"Probably" I agreed. I couldn't help but peer into the first page of the book already. "Darnassian?" I asked.

"Yes, some fellow must have spent months translating it before I found it in a run-down house in Terokkar." He shook his head sadly then continued, "I have these also," and handed over a bulging bag that smelled strange. "The local herbalist assured me I had collected a formidable supply of all the herbs in Outland when he looked at it, with the exception of one, a Fel Lotus, I believe? He said it was extremely rare and expensive."

"Thank you!" I gasped, encircling his waist with my small arms. He tensed for a moment but then put his hands on my shoulders.

"It was nothing, really. I hope it will help you advance. You know, training under Firodren will make you an esteemed herbalist. He's very well known. I don't doubt that before long you will be called to aid another city since you have this." He pointed to the worn book clutched under my arm.

"That would be incredible…" I said dreamily. I wanted to get off of Teldressil and away from my haunting past.

"Well, I only stopped by momentarily before I have to run again." He said with some dismay. "The library is in need of my works on Outland. Farewell!" He quickly mounted his nightsaber and took off down the ramp towards the town center. After he left, my night was uneventful. A few times the sounds of the town reached my secluded store, but not many people. A young looking Night Elf with blue hair walked past the door several times, but never came in. The entire time I was there, the thought of the new book was burning in the back of my mind. Many times I nearly dismissed my chores around the store and gave into the guilty pleasure awaiting me. Before I knew it, the noise of the city had died down and as I peeked my head out the door I could see the sky through the branches turning from deep violet to light purple. I grabbed my bag and put up the roots I had been working on. Sighing with relief, I walked out the door and into the quiet city. My feet were weary as I trudged across the wooden bridge to my room, and I fell heavily onto my bed, stuffing the book under my pillow for later inspection.

The day passed quickly and the hustle and bustle of the town soon awoke me. Because Night Elves were active at night, the streets in daylight were almost always empty. Even the drunks stumbling home didn't stay out past dawn. I stretched out in my bed, enjoying the dimly fading sun shafts that penetrated my flimsy wall. Reaching my hands up and kicking the blanket off, I nearly rose to begin the day, but my hands hit something hard under my pillow. Curiously, I reached for the offending object. It was the book Patthias presented me last night. All my plans of rising early left my mind in an instant as I eagerly flipped over on my stomach and turned the first page, the odor from the unfamiliar dried herbs penetrating my nose. I poured over page after page until I noticed I could see the stars bright in the night sky. Realizing I forgot about work with Firodren, I grabbed the book that had so easily distracted me and marked the page I had been on- Already nearly halfway through the book. Grabbing my satchel off the bed post, I stuffed a loaf of bread and water in it along with the book and took off running out the door and across the bridge into the city. I hurriedly waved at the Leatherworker as I dashed through his shop, almost certainly looking much more like a pale purple-and-blue blur than a person.

"Hello, Telonis!" I shouted as I ran down the ramp and out in the city, my bare feet nearly slipping on the damp cobblestones as I ran for the Temple. _Shoes, you fool! _ I thought as I ran, but I was already late, and Firodren would be furious. The city was a blur as I ran, hardly noticing people as I dashed past them. It crossed my mind to shift into feline form, but it would take me just as long to pause and cast the spell as it would to sprint on my current two legs. I didn't even slow as I reached the polished white marble of the Temple of the Moon. My pace merely got more labored as I ran the steep uphill climb towards the Temple and Firodren's store. I came to a slipping stop a few feet outside the arched door where I spent my afternoons. I smoothed down my undoubtedly wind-blown hair and flicked the wrinkles from my cloth robe and caught my breath. Pushing thebook down farther in my satchel, I walked through the door to see Firodren waiting impatiently in the center in the room.

"Hello sir," I began, "I wish I had an explanation other than sleeping in, sir." I mumbled, looking down at the grassy floor. He walked up to me, paused to look at my bare feet, sniffed suspiciously, and continued out the door. I turned as he left and heard him call back to me

"I will return for training later, child."

I smiled innocently as he walked out and waited a few moments to ensure he didn't return. Once satisfied, I leapt onto the rock and grabbed the Outlandian book from my bag. Few people came to Darnassus after the discovery of Shattrath City in the new land, so I had few visitors to worry about. By the time Firodren returned I had finished the book a time and a half and was satisfied with my newly acquired knowledge. The only plant I didn't see firsthand was the Fel Lotus, but there was a detailed drawing and description of the rare flower. In addition to that, every herb in Outland was dried, flattened, and pasted into the book, as well as its medicinal qualities.

"What have you got there child?" Firodren startled me, breaking the silence I had gotten so accustomed to.

"Oh, um… it's for you. The Outlandian tome of all herbs and flowers. Already memorized." I added a little smugly, handing him the worn book.

"I understand now, the reason for your tardiness this morning." He said, trying to be stern, but I saw the twinkle in his eye. "I see myself in you, young one. How many times have you read it?"

"One and a half." I answered plainly. He laughed and tucked the book under his arm.

"Come, Let us train."

I took a deep breath and drew the energy from the land around me to cast the spell. My wrists automatically went into a casting position and the ball of natural energy flowed from my hands. The target dummy we had set up outside the city spun violently when my ball of wrath hit it and turned a singed shade of black.

"Good!" He called. "Now heal it!"

I smiled, this I was good at it. First, I cast a quick rejuvenating spell and finished it up with regrowing the lost material of the dummy. Firodren nodded and walked up to me.

"There is not much else I can teach you, child. My specialties lay in working with the earth now, not channeling it into magic. Come, let us bring back some roots and retire for the night." What he really meant was he would point out spots, and I would dig and harvest the plant to carry it back. When we had gathered a formidable amount he made a grunting noise and began to walk towards the city. I slowed my pace and fell in behind him, admiring his confident stride. He may be old, but he was undoubtedly one of the more powerful Druids that resided here. When we reached his store he stopped.

"There is someone I want you to meet." He said wearily, pointing into the store. I cautiously looked around the doorframe to see a young Night Elf with his teal hair pulled back. He walked aimlessly around the store, attempting to recite common herbs. I whipped back around to face Firodren.

"Who is that?" I asked menacingly

"Chardryn. He is my new apprentice."

I gasped. "My replacement?" I couldn't believe it. He waited to tell me I was of no more use to him until I had already been swapped out.

"It is not as it seems. With all the new discoveries, an herbalist is needed at the Alliance capital, Stormwind city. I was requested, but I recommended you instead. I am too old and tired to travel anymore. This tree has become my home for the rest of my life, but you… child have an entire life ahead of you." He placed his hand on my shoulder and sighed. "Would you like to meet the boy?" He asked

"Thank you but no. When do I depart for Stormwind?" I couldn't help but sound hurt, and the older Druid could tell.

"Tomorrow. You are ready to face whatever challenges confront you, Shizue Stillwater. I have never had an apprentice like you. You will go far." Tears pricked at my eyes but I refused to cry in front of my former master. "Come see me in the early hours of the morning. The humans, they live by day and sleep by night. You will have to get used to their foolishness." I nodded and thanked him, then left to get the last few hours of daytime sleep for a long while. When I reached my room I looked around, sadness washing over me. I packed my few belongings in the leather back pack that I left Dolannar with and laid out my leather armor for the journey. With the drawers and bookshelves empty, I lay down on the familiar bed and closed my eyes, reminding myself that there were only a few short hours until morning broke.


	4. Chapter 4 - Faylaria - Forgotten Bones

**A/N**

**Here's a longer chapter, hope you enjoy! R&R**

**-Fay**

The Inn was crowded with life as always. Astranaar was a hub for most of the goblins that traded with Auberdine. You could always find goblins, and once in a while an ogre or two. A large party of the little green men had monopolized the center of the inn's tables, squabbling over a card game.

"Faylaria!" A happy voice called from one of the corner tables. I moved to the figure of my friend of the last year.

"Terral! How was your mission to Mystral Lake?" I sat down across from the jolly priest to find a glass of wine already waiting for me. I started nursing it as I listened to his story.

"You remember that I was going with that draenei shaman to try to calm the spirits right?" I nodded at him "Well it was going well. She was in a trance talking to the lake or something when this orc and troll come out of the blue and attacked us! Thankfully Shra'la- that was the shamans name- was still very aware of what was going on and asked the lake to help her remove the Horde." I nodded at him to encourage him to continue, not that I needed to. When Terral got talking, little less than an infernal could stop his mouth. "So this huge hand of water comes out of the lake and just picks up the Troll and whisked him under the water, then water elementals come plopping out of the waves and tackled the orc. They dragged him down into the depths with his friend." Terral stopped to take a quick drink before finishing. "He was being dragged across the ground screaming and clawing at the earth. I feel bad for the way that they died but not that they did die, I mean they were going to try to kill us, so." He trailed off looking into the distance as he remembered what he had seen.

"Did you manage to help the lake spirits?" I asked him trying to stir him from his thoughts.

"Sadly after the lake helped us it went a little kill-happy. We had to get out of there to save ourselves from the spirits pouring out of the lake." A shout from the bar made Terral get up to go get some food he must have ordered. Coming back with a fish platter he placed it on the table, and started talking through mouthfuls of food. "But thats not the best part! I was on my way back here when I met the most charming fellow! I can't remember his name but he told me about his time in the outlands. He was on his way back to give a book to Darnassus's herbalist and his apprentice. He happened to drop the said apprentice's name. Shizue." A smug look came over his face as he looked at me with intent.

"Damn it all!" I moaned slamming down my utensils. "I just agreed to go to Desolace and help with the Magram centaurs in the area. Nijel's point is under heavy harassment from them." I slumped in my chair feeling a little childish. "Now I will have to deal with that before I can go find Shizue." After waiting so long to find her I didn't want to wait another second.

"Well what a coincidence! I just took the same job when I got back in town." Terral's smile was always good at cheering me up, and we did make a good duo in battle. When my sword was blessed with the power of Elune, I was almost unbeatable in battle. I smiled to myself, thinking of a fight we had gotten into with a batch of horde caster close to the border to The Barrens.

"Good." I said picking my utensils back up and digging in to my fish once more. "This will be a fast mission with us together." Terral's smile intensified.

"Everything is always better with you."

"Hush, I'm eating." He had started flirted with me over the last year. After I saved us from the shaman attack at Starbreeze he had started being more and more friendly. Soon it had grown into more than friendship on his side. While I liked Terral, his years on me made me tentative to start anything. I realized while I was deep in thought that Terral had said something to me. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I was just saying that I was thinking about turning in, and that I had reserved a hippogriff to take us to Nijel's point in the morning."

I nodded my head "I will see you at dawn then. What do I owe you for the ride?" While it was faster to take a flying mount to places it was very expensive for a traveler like me to pay for such extravagances. I was no stranger to walking.

"I got a very good deal. I can cover the whole ride." I didn't know a lot about Terral's past, but I was sure that a priests wage was not that large. I also knew it was pointless to try to convince him to let me pay half.

'Thank you." I said begrudgingly. "I'm going to finish up here and then retire as well." I smiled at him as he walked out of the inn to wherever he had gotten accommodations. I rested my head in my hands. "I found you." I whispered "By Elune I found you."

The hippogriff ride was a silent one as there was no way for us to hear each other on the back of the beast. The view on the other hand was breathtaking. The Stonetalon Mountains, after living in a tree and forests, was so new and existing. I drank in the land under me. Rolling plains and tall crags where the wyverns roost and feed. I could also see the tip of the Mulgore valley in the distance. While I had never seen a Tauren up close, I had always wanted to visit their people - the other side of the druid coin. They were so entwined with the earth and it's children.

Soon we made it to Nijel's point in north Desolace. It was a small night elf town that

sat up in the hills. A small path led down into a desert- the main body of the region. When we landed Terral and I made it to the local inn to look for the man that had our orders. After a quick bite to eat we found Captain Pentigast. He was young for what I would think a human captain would be. He was about twenty from what I could guess of a humans age. Long golden hair cascaded down his head making him look like the lion depicted on the Alliance standard.

"Are you Terral and Faylyaria? From the Astranaar dispatch?" Pentigast looked a little pained, as if something was eating him from the inside.

"We are. When do we depart to deal with the centaurs?" I was eager to get out of here to find Shizue

"Within the hour." He said bluntly. "There was a satyr spotting. One of our members went to investigate. She will be back soon. Then we will depart. Please wait by the road."

"Very well." I said saluting him. "We will take a fast nap before we depart." I had always hated working for the other races. The day and night flipping was trying on me. With the dawn the humans seem to spring out of the earth, but all the dawn did for me was make me sleepy. My body was screaming at me to sleep for the day, but duty called and a mere nap would have to suffice.

After only a few minutes sleep we had left Nijel's point and made our way south. Thankfully we had been given mounts to take us there. We would be there and back by tomorrow if the attack went as smooth as we wanted, and after the experience of my other missions, I knew that only happened on paper.

The ride was spent in silence as we moved through the desert. Buzzards flew high, lizards laid on rocks, and kodos roamed in the distance. I was so very out of my element with all the heat and sun. The sun was always a thing I liked, but not here where there was so much of it.

After most of the day Pentigast ordered a halt and to break camp. It was nice to not be in a saddle, that I relished the chance to set up a tent. Terral was almost the same way, but never the less he was cheery. I wanted to punch him out of his good mood. Soon food was passed out and we slept for the night. Thankfully the captain had a brain and let Terral and I sleep all we wanted, as we had to pull an all dayer to be alert for the upcoming fight. Sleep took me within seconds.

I slipped into a dream that I had most nights. I was standing in the charred clearing in Starbreeze looking at the bodies of all the things I had killed. Beasts piled around me with furbolgs sprinkled on top. Another mound had Murlocs, Naga and demons I had killed in Demon Fall Canyon. Then I would feel what I always feared, but knew was coming. A tug at my hand. I would look down and see the small Kaldorei I had come to realize was my inner child. She was always pale and looked ill, blood splatters covered her. She would look at me with a sad look and ask me why I killed them. Why I wanted to end their lives. Why I wanted them to bleed.

The child's sad eyes filled me with such pain and hurt. Then the worst part would happen. I would reach down screaming at myself to stop and I would grab the child's neck twisting it to a sharp angle and throw her onto the pile of bodies. I always woke up after I watched her sad eyes go dark, and close, a tear sliding down her cheek.

The same dream had me now but it was different. There was a new corpse I could not recall. A Night Elf woman in plain cloths that reminded me of something the towns folk at Starbreeze would wear. The child was crouched next to the woman shaking her with all her might. "Get up!" She yelled at the body, crying and pounding it with small fists. I moved to move the child from the horrid sight when I got a glimpse of the dead woman's face. Shizue. The child then looked at me. "Why did you kill her? Why did you do it! She was only trying to live her own life and you killed her for it!" I tried to tell the girl I didn't kill my friend that I had just gotten here, but as I raised my hands to protest I saw a dagger covered with blood in my hand. The blood made the blade look as if it was made of ruby. The shine was transfixing. I looked again at my dead friend, her hands rested on her abdomen like she was trying to hold herself inside. The wounds there made me sick, gruesome and jagged, without remorse.

"No." I whispered. I couldn't believe what was before me. I turned, letting the dagger fall from my hand. I needed to get out of here. I couldn't handle what I was seeing. As I turned I ran into a dark figure. His presence was so overwhelming all I could do was sink down and cower in front of him. I closed my eyes and started crying.

"Wake up." It was Terrals voice. I opened my eyes and saw a pool of Elune's blessed moonlight next to me. Thanking the goddess I crawled into it and opened my eyes.

It was morning and Terral was shaking me. "Get up, it's time to attack the horse men. A sandstorm is coming as well so we need to move fast." His face had no hint of a smile so I knew the news was grim.

"I've had an omen from the goddess that I need you to help me sort though after all this." I said bluntly. This was not the time for talk and I needed a peaceful place to ponder the dream.

"An omen? Are you certain?" Terrals looked at me with concern, but I saw the fear in his eyes as well.

"Yes. Now lets move quickly. I do not wish to dally here." With that I got up and started on the task of packing my tent. It was fast work, but by the time the party started to move on it's journey once more the sandstorm was upon us. It was not long before I could see nothing more than the horse in front of me. The sand was flying and my eyes burned no matter what I did. Soon I was blind and I knew the horse was as well. The howling wind blew a violent headwind, slowing our progress more than the sand. Soon I heard a shout for a halt.

After everyone was accounted for Pentigast started speaking. "There is a goblin trader over the rise to the south west." The wind picked up and I lost most of what he said next. "We'll... with the... give us shelter." The goblins of Ratchet; while not the nicest people, would help someone in a pinch.

The party headed south staying on the road. I assumed that we would head west when the captain called for it. After almost two hours there was a call for the group to head west. The change in terrain made the trek even slower, but thankfully after another hour the storm lessened it's rage, letting me see farther than the back of my horse's head.

The sight of something other than flying sand overjoyed me until I realized that there was just sand. No one was around me, Terral and the others and vanished. I was alone in a desert with little food or water and only a vague idea of how to get back to Nijel's point. One of the best things about the human tongue was it's fantastic array of curse words. I used them all.

The storm had lessened more, but still the sun was hidden from me. I didn't know where I was headed but I knew I needed to find some sort of shelter so I could find my bearings. After what felt like an eternity, the mouth of a canyon came into view. Pushing the tired animal forward, we entered. Once we had crossed the threshold the storm evaporated like it had never happened, but looking behind me I could still see it rage. A minute or two down the canyon I found a small oasis that couldn't have filled a bath for a gnome, but I led the horse to it so he could drink.

I decided to wait for nightfall when I could follow the stars back to Nijel's point. Setting the horse to graze what it could from the wasteland I turned to find a small crag and hid there for a nap. After only a moment's work, I found what I was looking for behind a small boulder. While my pack was not the best pillow in the world, it felt like heaven. I was asleep before my eye had even fully closed.

I awoke suddenly. Night had fallen, the moon was just starting to peek overhead. The murmuring of voices pricked my ears. Shaking the last haze of sleep, I listened intently to find out who was out in this wasteland. Could Pentigast and Terral have found me?

"I don't care where it came from, it will be needed. Frank's horse died last night from that sting anyway." A gruff human voice said from only a little ways away. I got up and peeped over the edge of the rock that was my hiding place. Two human men in robes stood next to my horse, mages perhaps? We had no mage types in our group other than Terral.

"Lets have a look around anyway, maybe the rider is still about. I hope it's a fat noble, I could use some gold. One more corpse won't change anything." I still had my weapons but my go to two-handed sword would not do me any good. I would have to play the assassin and dispatch the two quietly. Pulling my dagger out, I waited in the shadows, all but invisible. Soon one of the men found my hiding place. Spying my pack he crouched to investigate. I reached down.

Thankfully my pack was of good leather and cleaning blood off of it was easy. I silently moved from the body to get a better look at the floor of the canyon. The other man was returning from the far wall. I was going to have to strike fast and with precision. If there were others around I didn't want to alert them to my presence anymore than I already had. Again not wanting the glint of my blade to alert the man I kept my dagger in hand.

The man was aggravatingly slow in his return. He was almost in range for me to charge him with easy when he stopped and looked back down the canyon. Another two men were coming towards him. Both wore the same robe as the original two men.

"Where is Lionel? And what's with the horse?" One of the men asked after reaching the man.

"Me and Lionel were going out here to try to find some bones to practice with when we found this horse." He said nodding his head towards the beast. "We decided to look around, and now I seemed to have lost Lionel." The man shrugged like he didn't think much of the entire situation. Why did they need bones to practice on? Did I stumble upon a nest of necromancers? What are these men doing here?

"You lost him?" Demanded the other man. "When did you lose him!" Anger radiated from him. "Go find him. Now!" He barked that order to both the other men. Once more I played the role of the hunted as the men searched the canyon. For a tense half hour they searched for their companion, but to no avail. They took my horse and moved back down the canyon talking about starting fresh in the morning.

I couldn't make it back to Nijel's point without a mount of some sort and that horse was the only one I knew about. Knowing I was more than likely dead either way I trailed the robed men back to their camp. It was a short trip with many twists and turns, but soon we came into a large ravine where the men had made camp. I looked at my surroundings. The walls looked odd, there was a smoothness to the rock that shouldn't have been there. The Pattern to the smoothness of the rock disturbed me, but I couldn't place why.

Shaking the feeling off, I inspected the human's camp. There was a post with six horses tied to it. Two tents faced the post, and a campfire sat in the middle. The three men I saw before were not talking to a pair of females. They seemed to be in a heated argument about the missing man. I crept closer to listen in.

"We need Lionel to finish the circle!" one of the women yelled "Without him we will not have the power to raise the giants!"

"We will find him, and we will have to power to raise the giants. With or without him." this comment from one of the men hushed the group.

"You better be right Seth." Said the other woman whose voice was old and dry. "Or Araj will have our heads. Failure is never met will with him."

"If you can call it a him" Said one of the men.

"Hush!" The crone snarled at him "Do not talk of our lord lich is such a manner!" Lich? One of the undead scourge elite? And what giants are they trying to raise? I gazed off trying to think of where giants lived in this land. As my gazes hovered over the canyon wall the smoothness of the walls relieved their true selves to me. Bones. Huge Naga like creatures embedded in the walls. Two massive destructive brutes just waiting for necromancers to come give them new life. I could not let the coven's dark plan come to fruition. I needed a plan to root the vile magic users out of this canyon before it was too late.

Hours passed as I waiting for the time to strike. The two women waited outside for the dead companions return but soon they tired of that, and left to their tent for the night. I waited for a night watch to happen, but none showed up. Scoffing at their lack of defense, I crept into camp. I moved to the tent that the women shared. I did not relish the idea of killing two sleeping women but their evil sealed their fate.

Sneaking into the tent, I waited for my eyes to adjust to the increased darkness of the canopy. Two sleeping forms slowly came into my vision. The inside of the tent was more cramped than I had thought. A table sat to one side covered in dark colored gems and wicked looking items. I pulled my dagger from my belt and cept to the first form. I waited for her to breath out and then struck. Stabbing her in the neck and out the side as fast as I could so her screams would be nothing more than air rushing from the side of her neck. Without a seconds hesitation I moved to do the same to the second body. With the grim deed done, I left the gasping women to their fate.

As I turned to leave I saw a sweeping mist in one of the stones on the table. Knowing of warlocks ability to bind their soul to a gem I lifted my dagger and brought it down the the gem shattering it. The sound was too sharp in the stillness of the night. I could hear the grunting sound of someone being awoken suddenly and the scuffling of people getting up. Knowing I had to act, fast I threw stealth to the wind and rushed out of the camp to where I had hidden my great two handed sword near by. It knew I had to keep the attack up while sleep still muddled their mind. I turned back to the camp and surveyed of the men stood outside looking around for the source of the sound. Another one was looking into the female's tent. "They're still asleep, still as the dead in fact." The man moved into the tent more. I quickly burst from my hiding place and charged the first man. He saw me coming but only had time to raise his hand before I lobbed it, and his head clean off. "Tina and the crone are dead!" said the same man as he poked his head out of the tent. Taking one hand off my blade, I reached for my dagger and threw it with all my might at the man. Not expecting me, the man was not defending himself and the dagger slid into his chest with a small thud. The man gasped and fell backwards into the tent. I knew there was a man behind me, so I tilted, letting my body fall back a small amount before using the momentum to feed a spin with my sword into the man. True as ever, my blade sliced through his shoulder and chest. The cut was deep and the man looked shocked to see me. "Who..." He gasped before falling.

Two lay dead before me and another three in the tent. Where was the last? I crouched into a defensive position looking for the man in question. Was he still asleep even after the sounds of the battle, quite as it was? I didn't believe it. I slowly moved to the tent where the men slept. I slightly parted the opening to gaze inside. The man was sitting in the middle of the floor, his eye rolled into the back of his head. I could feel the power now rolling off him in waves. I had to stop him before he did whatever he was doing. I hefted my sword in my hand like a javelin and threw it will all my might. The blade sliced through the air with a small hissing sound and hit the man in his abdomen. The force of the blow knocked him back and pinned him into the ground behind me. I felt the power fade and I was sure I had won.

"Who are you. Who sent you?" The man was not dead as I had thought.

"I am the justice of Elune, brought here to put a stop to your evil before you could ravage this land!" As I spoke I reached down and twisted the neck of the dying man. I would not let him taunt me from his grave.

After retrieving my sword from his corpse I left the tent to check the others. The man I had thrown my dagger at was also still alive and had climbed out of the tent and was trying to run away from the camp. Sighing, I trotted after him. I soon overtook him and with ease and knocked him over.

"Why did you come here foul necromancer." I said to him holding my sword over his heart. "I want answers!"

"Araj sent us!" The man had started to cry. "Please don't kill me, Please don't!"

"Who is Araj! Talk!" I pushed my blade, parting the skin over his heart.

"He is the lich lord of Andorhal! Please don't! Oh light please don't!" Andorhal? That was in the Eastern kingdoms. A human once told me of the land they had lost to the Forsaken and Scourge.

"What is your name." I asked him.

"Why do you need to know?" He said bewilderedly.

"So I know what to write on your tombstone."

"Please no! I'm only a initiate! Please let me live, I promise to stop working for the cult please! Don't! please!" I was tired of death, and this man, no boy, looked no more than sixteen. Seeing him like this made me think of him as a weak nothing and not an evil cultist. I looked down at the wound I had given him and saw that it was shallow. my dagger had not hit as true as I thought. If I left him he would just be killed by the beast that roamed this region of the world.

"I will not kill you." I sighed. "Now tell me your name."

"Oh thank you! My name is Neral" The boy said trying to fight back the tears of panic. Something twanged inside me as I looked at this sad kid and I realized he was only a few years younger than me. I felt a need to help this child find the right path. To make sure he walked the path of light and not the path of death, but he had to be willing.

"I will let you live Neral on one condition." The boys eyes filled with fear again as I spoke. "You are a cultist; therefore, I can not trust you to roam free. I'm going to take you prisoner and figure out what to do with you after we reach Nijel's point." I put my sword back into it's strap. "Lets move." After the boy had stood I grabbed him by the shoulder and we moved back to camp. After a quick stop at my pack for some rope, I tied Neral's hands and feet and left him sitting in the middle of the camp. "Try to get away and I'll kill you." The boy didn't make a peep as I searched the camp for supplies. I had not carried much food from NIjel's point, and Terral had carried it for me. Damn him and his constant need to be helpful! Thankfully after only a small, search I found the necromancers food cache. It was mostly hard tack, but it would have to do.

I quickly packed the horses and moved them a small distance from the camp. Leaving the bound Neral with the beasts, I returned to the camp. If I was dealing with masters in death magic I would not leave it to chance whether or not they could revive themselves somehow. I moved the corpses of the two I had slain inside one of the tents and switched to a grim task. Taking my sword I beheaded them all. I didn't want to, but the magic they weld was too unknown to me to take chances. After I had finished, I collected some of the dried plant life around me. Stacking it around the tent, I set it all on fire, and left with the horses before they spooked.

"Why did you do that?" asked the boy as I undid his leg binding so he could ride.

"I did it so they could not rise again and continue with their vile plans." After I tied him to the saddle I continued to rope all six of the horses together. I would not leave the beasts to be eaten by the creatures of this desert.

Soon we had left the canyon behind us. With the veil of night upon us I was able to find the way back to Nijel's point. I knew I needed to make the entire trek back in one stretch as I didn't trust the boy to not just slip away in the day while I slept. My horse had also gotten very little sleep the last few days. I couldn't push them as well as I wanted, but we would have to if we were going to make it back before the next nightfall.

The journey was dull and uneventful. Around mid afternoon we came to the small path that lead up into Nijel's point. Relieved and ready to drop, I spurred the horses on. The rest of what happened was a blur. I remember telling an official looking solder that the boy was my prisoner and I need to talk to someone about necromancers, but not before I had eaten and slept. When I awoke the next evening I found that Terral and the others had returned while I was down. "Faylaria!" I stood from my finished meal to see Terral hustling toward me. He ran up to me and embraced me. "I was so worried." I had no energy to berate him for his public display, but no one in the tavern seem to take notice... After the hug had lasted for too long I spoke.

"Are you done yet? I need to report to Pentighast." Stepping back Terral gave me a sheepish look.

"Yes, and I am very interested in what happend." at that moment the Captain and another human that looked like a paladin came over to me.

"Report soldier. I hear tale that you come back talking of necromancers. I've already talked to the boy Neral and he told me quite a tale, but I want to know your side of all this." I told him what happened to me as of when the storm hit. Looking grim Pentighast turned to his companion. "Is Azore in town? I believe the Argent Dawn should know of this."

"Yes I believe he is. I will get him at once." The men left with haste.

"Who is Azore? And what is the Argent Dawn?" I asked with an inquisitive look on my face. I had heard of the argent dawn but was not sure what they did.

"Azore is a mage from the Argent Dawn. They are a group that fights the scourge in the plage lands of the eastern kingdoms."

"Fay, may I have a word with you before you get wrapped up in something?" Terral said touching my arm for emphasis.

"Very well. Please excuse us for a moment Captain." He nodded and we turned to walk a small ways away. "What do you want to speak about?" I inquired.

"I was also present when Pentighast integrated the child, and I sensed a strong dark energy inside him. I believe he is destined to work in dark magics." I groaned. If he indeed had this darkness, he was sure to be executed before he could harness this power for evil deeds. "Remember that the moon is also bathed in darkness but is also of the light." Terral Interjected to my sound of displeasure. "If what he says is true, I think we should send him to work with the Sisters of Elune back in Darnassus. I believe that with training he will become a mighty shadow priest and that Elune will guide him to his place in the world." I had forgotten the darker side the priests' carried around inside them. I had never seen Terral use any of that magic, but we had once talked about it. He said he had used the power once, and he never wanted to use it again.

"Have you told anyone else of the dark power?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"No, but there was a paladin that also felt it. They decided to wait for you to tell us what you knew before judging him."

I nodded. "I'll see what I can do." As I spoke, a man in the long robes of a mage walked into the room. Terral opened his mouth to talk but I cut him off. "We will talk later." I walked back to Pentighast to meet the new man.

"Azore. We have some news that we believe the Argent dawn needs to know." As Pentighast filled him in Azore kept looking at me with sharp glances. After the Captain was done he spoke to me.

"You killed five cultists in seconds?"

"No. I had a few hours of waiting before I could make my move."

"But the battle only took seconds?" he asked again.

"Yes."

The robed man looked at me with another sharp look. As if he was looking at something a goblin was trying to sell. "I want you to come with me when I go to tell this situation to the Argent dawn. We could use someone like you on the front lines." I had no love for the undead, but I also had just found my best friend again and wanted to see her desperately. A small flash back of my dream hit and me I felt ill. "I will on one condition." I turned to Pentighast. "I want that boy sent to the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus to learn to become a shadow priest. I would hate to have dragged him all the way here to be killed." He thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"I will see what I can do. I don't like the idea of killing the boy, and he seems to have just gotten mixed up in something that was completely out of his control." I nodded at him

"Thank you."

"I would like to come as well." This sudden outburst came from Terral "I was at the battle of Hyjal. The Legion used our dead to bolster their ranks. I hate them more than most people do."

"Good." Azore said. "We always need more to join us! When will you be ready to leave?"

"I'll be ready to leave as soon as I collect my pack, and some supplies for the journey." I felt oddly calm, like this was where I was supposed to be.

"Same for me." Chimed in Terral.

"Don't bother getting supplies. I plan on making this a fast trip. Meet me outside in a few minutes." Confused, I moved to get my things. Terral disappeared as well so I assumed he was doing the same. Soon I was ready. Leaving the, inn I quickly found the mage and Terral just outside.

"Good you're here. Lets get going." Clapping his hands together the mage slowly started to part them. As he did a small tear open in between them and started to widen. Soon a large portal opened up. I could see a small stone building standing on a small sickly looking hill. "Lets go. This is harder to do then you would think." Azore said with a hint of strain in his voice. Whispering a small goodbye to the friend I almost found I stepped through the portal leaving my home behind, and into the land of the dead.


End file.
